Olympian year, or the fecond year of the 112th Olympiad, on the the twentieth day of September : And this evidently proves the mistake of Beroaldus, who affirms, that the Death of Darius hapned in the first year of the 113th Olympiad. If therefore a true Ballance be made betwixt the 217th Olympian year, being the first of the 55th Olympiad, when Cyrus began to reign in Perfia, and the 446th Olympian year, it will demonftratively appear, that the Perfian Empire,according to our Affertion, flourished about 228 or 229 years.

Of the Babylonian Epocha of Cyrus, and the End of the first Monarchy.

RULES.

1. Cyrus put an end to the first Monarchy by the Conqueft of Babylon, under the Reign of Darius Medus, who being called in prophane Hiftory Nabonnedus, fucceeded Balthafar in the Babylonian Empire, acording to Berofus, Herodotus, Ptolemy, and many others.

2. Cyrus marched with a vast Army out of Perfia, and after having carried Fire and Sword thro' the reft of Afia, attack'd Babylon in the 17th year of Nabonnedus, according to Berofus.

3. From the first year of the Babylonian Epocha of Cyrus till the beginning of the Reign of Cambyfes, according to the Celestial Characters mentioned by Ptolemy, are accounted 9 years.

4. From the beginning of the Nabonassarean Epocha till the time of Cyrus, are accounted by Ptole

my 209 years.

5. From thefe Characters it is concluded, that the first year of the Babylonian Epocha of Cyrus, mentioned in prophane Hiftory, was coincident with the

4176th year of the Julian Period, Cycl. . 4.

D. 15.

6. If therefore 4175 years be added to any certain year of the Babylonian Epocha of Cyrus, according to the Calculation of the prophane Hiftorians, the Product will fhew the year of the Julian Period. And if the faid 4175 years be fubtracted from the known year of the Julian Period, the Refidue will fhew the year fince the beginning of this Epocha.

S. TH Here are fome who don't allow of any dif- Whether ference betwixt the Perfian and Babylonian the BabyEpocha of Cyrus; but maintain, that in one and the lonian and fame year he made himself Master of Perfia, Media, Perfian EAffyria and Babylon; which being repugnant to all pocha of the best Monuments of Antiquity, it is a wonder to me how fome among the Learned could be misguided into this Opinion.

Cyrus be the fame.

§. 2. There are fome who affirm that Balthafar was Whether the laft King of Babylon, who was vanquished by Cy- Balthafar rus in Conjunction with Darius the King of the Medes, was thelaft being mifguided by the Authority of Jofephus Lib. 10. King of c. 12. Ant. whofe Words are as follows: Abilamaro- Babylon. dach died in the 18th year of his Reign, and was fuc ceeded by his Son Niglifar, who reigned 40 years. After his Death fucceeded his Son Labofordach, who dying about 9 Months after, the Kingdom was devolved to Balthafar, whom the Babylonians call Naboandel. He was engaged in a bloody War against Cyrus King af Perfia, and Darius King of Media; and whilst he was befieged in Babylon, was furprised by a most prodigious Vifion; and not long after both Balthafar and the City fell into the hands of Cyrus King of Perfia, who took Babylon in the 17th year of the Reign of Balthafar, &c. But Fofephus is mistaken in this Relation, as appears out of the Fragments of the true Berofus inferted by Fofephus himself, Lib. 1. contra App. For this Labofordach mentioned by Fofephus is no other than Balthafar: Neither did the Conquest of Cyrus happen under his Reign. Befides, Darius the Median did not conquer the Kingdom of Babylon; but, aç

cording

Whether

with Na

cording to Berofus and Megasthenes, received the Crown as tendered to him.

§. 3. It is alfo called in Question by fome, whether Darius Darius the Median mentioned in the Scripture, is the Medus is fame with Nabonnidus, mentioned by Herodotus and the fame other Hiftorians; because that Nabonnidus is called by bonnidus. Berofus, the Babylonian; but Darias is furnamed the Median: But in regard that Darius is mentioned in Scripture as the immediate Succeffor of Belfazar (who in prophane History is called Labofbardack) and that the other Hiftorians have made Nabonnidus (or Laponytus as Herodotus calls him) immediate Succeffor to Labofoardach, it feems more than probable that these two Names belong to one and the fame Perfon. Some alledge to fupport the diftinction between Darins and Nabonnidus, that Berofus calls Nabonnidus a Babylonian, but the allegation is falfe, for he only fays of him, τὶς τῶν ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος, which imports no more than his frequenting the Babylonian Court: Befides, Megasthenes fays of the Babylonians; They declared Nabonnidus a Foreigner their King.

of the Opi- §. 4. Henricus Buntingus, with fome others, relynion of Xe-ing upon the Authority of Xenophon, would make this nophon Darius Medus the fame with Cyaxares, mentioned in prophane Hiftory. But concerning the Authority of Xenophon we have spoke fufficiently before.

concerning

Darius

Medus.

Darius

Medus was

not the Son

S. 5. There are alfo many learned Authors, who being milled by Jofephus, would have this Darius to have been the Son and Succeffor of Aftyages, and Uncle of Altya- to Cyrus. But tho' Darius was originally of Media, Dan. 9. ver. 1. yet he is not called King of Media, but of Chaldea, and Justin fufficiently contradicts this Opinion, when he fays, Aftyages had no Male Iffue.

ges,

of the Con- §. 6. According to Berofus, whofe Fragments are queft of inferted by Jofephus, Cyrus, after he had vanquished Babylon. Darius, befieged the City of Babylon, which being well provided with Provifions fufficient to fuftain a long Siege, the Inhabitants bid Defiance to the Perfi ans, who at last having found means to turn off the River Euphrates, (which runs thro' the City) by diverting its courfe into the adjacent Marthes, furprifed the City. Herodotus relates, that the Perfians

the

the better to put their defign in Execution,had pitched upon a Day, on which being one of the Feftivals among the Babylonians, they were bufied in Dancing and other Jollities. The Prophet Ifaiah c. 44. v. 27. feems to have foretold this Diversion of the River Euphrates, when he fays of Cyrus, That faith to the Deep, be dry; and I will dry up thy Rivers: As the Conqueft of Babylon, in the Abfence of their King, was foretold by Feremiah c. 51. v. 31. One Poft shall run to meet ano ther, and one Meffenger to meet another,to shew the King of Babylon that his City is taken at one end, and that the paffages are ftopt, and the Reeds they have burnt with Fire, and the Men of War are affrighted, &c.

§ 7. There is alfo a contest among Chronolo- Whether gers whether Cyrus conquered the Babylonian Empire Cyrus conafter he had vanquished Crafus or before. Fuftin quered Barelates, that Craefus affifted the Babylonians against bylon beCyrus, who, after the Conqueft of Babylon, march-fore Cic ed into Lydia against Crafus, and took him Prifoner, fus. But Herodotus fays exprefly, that Cyrus vanquished Crafus before the Conqueft of Babylon; and Eufebius Chronic, and Julius Solinus Cap. 7. agree, that the Conqueft of Lydia hapned in the first year of the 58th Olympiad. Feremiah c. 15. v. 26. feeins to favour the laft Opinion; when after he had mentioned all the other Kings before, he fays thus of the King of Babylon; And the King of Shefhach fhall drink after them.

§. 8. Some Chronologers make the first year of the of the first Babylonian Epocha of Cyrus coincident with the fame year of Coyear that the Scriptures call the First year of Cores. 'res menti To juftify their affertion they alledge, that to reckon oned 2 backwards from the fourth year of King Jehoiakim Chron. (when according to the Opinion of fome, the Flower 36. 22. of the fewish Nation was carried into Captivity by Nebuchadnezzar) to the first year of the Babylonian Epocha of Cyrus, compleats exactly the time of 70 years; and that the Conqueft of Babylon by Cyrus, ought to fuit in time to his Deliverance of the Fews out of their Captivity, foretold by Jeremiah c. 25. v. 12. And it shall come to pass when 70 years are accomplished, that I will punish the King of Babylon and that Nation, faith the Lord, for their Iniquity, and the Land of the Chaldæans; and will make it perpe· tual Defolations. But I must needs give the preference

to

to the Opinion of Scaliger, who makes a difference betwixt the prophane Era of Cyrus, and that of the Scriptures. For it being evident out of Ezekiel c.24:, V. 1, 2. c. 33. v. 21. c. 40. v. I. and feveral other paffages quoted before Chap. 22. that the 70 years Captivity mentioned as terminating in the first year of Core's must commence from the deportation of Jehoiachin; 'tis not poffible to make up 70 years from the time of Jehoiachin to the prophane Babylonian Ara of Cyrus. Befides, if the Scriptural firft year of Cores were coincident with the first year of the prophane Babylonian Epocha,fince by the confent of moft Hiftorians Cyrus reigned 9 years after, it is very probable that the Jews would not have neglected in all this time to rebuild the Temple, especially, fince it is evident out of Ezra c. 2. v. 3. that Cyrus never recalled the Edic made on their behalf. For which Reafon it appears more probable that the first year of Cores mentioned in Scripture, was not long before his Death, it being elfe very difficult to imagine how Cambyfes the Succeffor of Cyrus could have prevented the fame Edict to be put in execution. And here it is very obfervable, that in prophane Hiftory the year in which Cyrus entred the Babylonian Empire and vanquished Darius, is exprefly mentioned; but the Conpuest of the City of Babylon, which in all probability required a confiderable time, is paffed by in filence. From whence it is apparent that the prophane Hiftorians fix the beginning of the Babylonian Epocha of Cyrus from the time that he vanquished Darius: But it feems as if the Holy Scripture understood by the first year of Cares the year in which he made himself Mafter of the Capital City of Babylon. The fame is the cafe with the Ara Atiaca, which fome begin from the Battle of Actium, others from the Conqueft of Alexandria. There is alfo another Obfervation to be made, that the Words in the Original Text do not exprefly denote the First year of Cores; but rather One of the years of Cores; which, I wonder how it fhould 'fcape the Ob fervation of fo many Interpreters.

CHAP.